Skipped Meals = Abdominal Fat

In a recent study, what we have always heard is again confirmed; graze all day instead of fasting and gorging to maintain a healthy weight. What’s more in this particular study, if you want to keep off belly fat, do not skip meals.

Researchers used two groups of mice. The first group received normal amounts of food ad libitum. The second group received half the normal amount of daily food consumed. These mice had their food intake gradually increased over 3 days. What was remarkable was the restricted mice ate all of their daily ration in about four hours leaving them to essentially fast for 20 hours each day. What’s more is that the gorging behavior continued once the food ration was back at control levels. The gorging/fasting mice showed higher levels of inflammation and increased genes that store fat and plump up fat cells in the abdominal area. They also showed insulin resistance as their livers did not receive the signal to stop sending glucose, as it normally would after a meal, which is a precursor to type II diabetes.

So mom of course was right, don’t skip breakfast….or any meal for that matter!